Berry Co. (NASDAQ:BRY) Short Interest Update

Berry Co. (NASDAQ:BRY) saw a significant increase in short interest during the month of September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,000,000 shares, an increase of 27.7% from the August 31st total of 2,350,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 945,900 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.2 days. Approximately 4.0% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Berry Stock Up 3.7 %

BRY stock traded up $0.18 during trading on Friday, reaching $5.03. 934,231 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,032,243. The company has a market capitalization of $387.00 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 503.00 and a beta of 1.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.62. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $5.97 and a 200 day simple moving average of $6.86. Berry has a 12 month low of $4.82 and a 12 month high of $8.91.

Berry (NASDAQ:BRY) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 9th. The energy company reported $0.18 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.20 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $197.80 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $187.38 million. Berry had a positive return on equity of 6.69% and a negative net margin of 4.19%. Berry’s revenue was down 13.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.15 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Berry will post 0.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Berry Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 30th. Investors of record on Friday, August 23rd were issued a $0.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 23rd. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 9.54%. Berry’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 4,800.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Piper Sandler cut their target price on shares of Berry from $8.00 to $7.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 15th.

Insider Activity at Berry

In other news, CEO Fernando Araujo sold 33,950 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.22, for a total value of $211,169.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 253,045 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,573,939.90. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 1.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in BRY. Diversified Trust Co grew its holdings in Berry by 7.2% in the first quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 21,514 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $173,000 after purchasing an additional 1,450 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System raised its position in Berry by 9.3% during the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 20,462 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $132,000 after acquiring an additional 1,747 shares during the period. Meeder Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Berry by 43.5% during the second quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 7,212 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 2,186 shares in the last quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Berry by 2.2% during the 2nd quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 103,413 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $668,000 after purchasing an additional 2,216 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in Berry by 16.1% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 21,664 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $175,000 after buying an additional 2,999 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.88% of the company’s stock.

About Berry

Berry Petroleum Company, LLC., formerly Berry Petroleum Company, is an independent energy company. The Company is engaged in the production, development, exploitation, and acquisition of oil and natural gas. The Company’s principal reserves and producing properties are located in California (South Midway-Sunset (SMWSS)-Steam Floods, North Midway-Sunset (NMWSS)-Diatomite, NMWSS-New Steam Floods, Texas (Permian and E.